Two rookie left-handers open the American League Division Series in Cleveland on Saturday afternoon.
The Guardians won the AL Central by a single game over the White Sox. Chicago lost 121 games two years ago and just swept Houston for its first postseason series win since 2005.
How to watch
White Sox at Guardians, ALDS Game 1
Saturday, Oct. 3, 1 p.m. ET
Progressive Field, Cleveland
TV: TBS and truTV
Streaming: HBO Max with a subscription
The Division Series moves off NBC and Peacock, which carried the Wild Card round. American League games are on TBS and truTV. National League games are on FOX and FS1.
Both AL channels are carried on Sling, YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream and most cable packages. Sling sells day passes starting at $4.99 for anyone who only wants the postseason.
The weather
Clear and cool in Cleveland. Low 60s at first pitch falling into the upper 50s by evening, winds 9 to 13 mph from the northeast, almost no chance of rain.
Who is pitching
Parker Messick starts for Cleveland. The rookie left-hander went 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 186 1/3 innings.
Hagen Smith starts for Chicago. The 23-year-old left-hander pitched in 18 games with one start, going 3-3 with a 1.29 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 28 innings. His career high for an appearance is three innings, so Chicago will likely use him as an opener.
Lineups
Cleveland: Steven Kwan CF, Jose Ramirez 3B, Chase DeLauter RF, Jo Adell DH, Angel Martinez LF, David Fry 1B, Travis Bazzana 2B, Austin Hedges C, Brayan Rocchio SS.
Chicago: Chase Meidroth 2B, Randal Grichuk LF, Miguel Vargas 3B, Munetaka Murakami 1B, Tommy Pham DH, Brenton Doyle CF, Kyle Teel C, Braden Montgomery RF, Colson Montgomery SS.
Travis Bazzana starts at second
Bazzana was the first Australian taken No. 1 overall in the draft, by Cleveland in 2024. He was born in Sydney, went to Turramurra High School and played at Oregon State.
He played for Australia at the World Baseball Classic in March and is now in a Division Series lineup in his first full major league season.
The Australian Baseball League opens its 2026-27 season Nov. 19.
Jo Adell had the strangest year in baseball
Cleveland acquired Adell from the Angels in August after nine years in that organization.
In April he robbed three home runs in a single game against Seattle, including one on which he tumbled over the right-field wall. In June a fly ball off the bat of Colorado's TJ Rumfield grazed his glove, bounced off his head and went over the fence. It was scored a home run and later changed to a four-base error.
He homered against the White Sox at Progressive Field on Sept. 15.
Two veterans of the 2015 Cardinals
Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham are both in the Chicago lineup, eleven years after they were teammates in St. Louis.
Grichuk hit .276 with 17 home runs as a 23-year-old in 2015. Pham hit .268 with five in 52 games at 27. Both have since played for eight and twelve organizations.
Grichuk has been Chicago's best bat since arriving, hitting .299 with 15 home runs and a .926 OPS in 101 games.
Pham was diagnosed with keratoconus, a degenerative eye condition, in the minor leagues in 2008 and has managed it with custom lenses and corneal procedures throughout his career.
The matchup
Chicago took the season series 7-6.
The White Sox lineup is built on power. Munetaka Murakami hit 35 home runs, Miguel Vargas 33 and Colson Montgomery 31.
Cleveland won 11 of its final 15 games to take the division on the penultimate day of the season.
Jose Ramirez has passed 60 career WAR, seventh among active players, and holds the Cleveland franchise record for games played. He did not play for the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic in March.
The series schedule
Game 1 — Saturday, Oct. 3, 1 p.m. ET, Cleveland
Game 2 — Monday, Oct. 5, 5 p.m. ET, Cleveland. Gavin Williams starts for Cleveland.
Game 3 — Wednesday, Oct. 7, 4 p.m. ET, Chicago
Game 4 — Thursday, Oct. 8, 5 p.m. ET, Chicago, if necessary
Game 5 — Saturday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. ET, Cleveland, if necessary
All on TBS and truTV. The winner plays the Yankees-Rays winner in the ALCS, beginning Oct. 12.
The rest of Saturday
Braves at Dodgers, 4 p.m. ET on FOX. Tarik Skubal starts.
Yankees at Rays, 6:30 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max. Gerrit Cole against Drew Rasmussen. Aaron Judge is not on the roster with a strained right calf.
Padres at Brewers, 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Robbie Ray against Jacob Misiorowski.
